The MINI brand isn’t doing too great right now when it comes to sales. Sure, the entire industry is facing an unprecedented crisis, but things have been going downwards for MINI for a long time now. Sales have been steadily declining and, contrary to what you may think, the best selling models have been the Clubman and Countryman.
That’s right, the biggest MINI models are selling the most and that’s news only if you haven’t been paying attention to the automotive industry lately.
SUVs and Crossovers are taking over and since MINI’s offerings in this regard are limited to one model, bringing out more choices might rejuvenate the brand.
According to a report from Autocar, that’s exactly what the Brits are planning. They will reportedly build two new models, one made in China market and one of more conventional origins. The details are pretty interesting too, as it seems the Chinese-built one will be an electric 5-door crossover, using a shared platform and built in collaboration with Great Wall Motors.
The new crossover could revive the Paceman name and will use cobalt-free batteries, as BMW has been promising for some time now. The same report claims that this car could eventually replace the BMW i3 and that fits right into the hints the Germans have been offering about the future of the i model.
The Munich high-wigs have been saying that the complex architecture of the i3 will not be used on a possible successor and that they will be aiming for a more conventional take.
As for the second model, it is said that it will revive the Traveller name and it will be a bit bigger than the current Countryman. This model will not be exclusively electric but will also offer internal combustion engines to those interested. The car will be comparable to a BMW X3 in size once it arrives somewhere in 2024 and it will most likely use the CLAR architecture, making it the first MINI in history with a longitudinally mounted engine.
